Monday, November 07, 2016

Benedicta tu in mulieribus ...





BWAYMUS DEEUS SENYOR

In grade school I was an altar boy, and thus knew by rote the entire Mass, which was then said in Latin.  In high-school I took four years of Latin,  and was able to squeak by reading the latin text of  Gallic Wars Book 1 (with a "C-").  Now, 8 days into our 9 day bread & water/ Rosary election fast, I have a problem.  Here's the latin text for the Hail Mary.
AVE MARIA, gratia plena, Dominus tecum. Benedicta tu in mulieribus, et benedictus fructus ventris tui, Iesus. Sancta Maria, Mater Dei, ora pro nobis peccatoribus, nunc, et in hora mortis nostrae.
For the past year I've been trying (weekly, if not daily) to re-memorize those 30 words ... and I can't. While I am more forgetful, my Dr. tells me that it's not unusual for my age (73). Still, it bugs the hell out of me, because, obvioulsy, the dreaded word Alzheimer comes to mind easier than does gratia plena. MoSup tells me that sugar is suspected to be a contributory cause, and I do love my pecan pie. 

A good friend of ours is well into Alzheimer's, but still functions.  Talking with him is delightful, until he tells the same story the third time in one sitting. On the plus side, he has not a worry in the world. Always happy, and, so far, no rants about people trying steal his stuff. A life long Liberal Democrat, he doesn't give a rat's ass who wins this election.  Maybe he's the lucky one. 

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

Since about 55, Can't memorize much of anything. Yeah, always think of dementia or The Big A.

Ole Phat Stu (atheist) said...

Translation :Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death.

Tom said...

I'm frustrated at Redskins games because I'm no longer able to remember the name and jersey number of every player on the roster.

USMC2841 said...

By no means am I a doctor. Heck, I didn't even stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night but I've lived through personal experiences with Alzheimer's. One thing I've noted is that the most recent memories are the first to go and earlier memories stay the longest i.e. forgetting grandchildren but remembering children. Eventually, my grandmother forgot who everyone was. This led to fear and anger when "strangers" would show up and steal her laundry. If Alzheimer's is consistent your memory from times as an alter boy should be impacted less.

SoylentGreen said...

The good thing about Alzheimer's is you can throw yourself a surprise party. On the other hand I worry that I will start calling my current wife by the wrong name.

Anonymous said...

When my wife and I were courting we used to pray that we wouldn't both be "weak" at the same time and "fall into sin". Now we're well past 60 and today we pray we don't both forget the same thing at the same time. To borrow a couple slogans from the armed services, Old Age, It's An Adventure, Be All You Can Remember To Be.

OregonGuy said...

You learn through your fingertips. Typing doesn't count.

Grab a pad, and write. Whether you use cursive or not, you'll find a great jump in your retention.
.

Rodger the Real King of France said...

My prob is, Oregon Guy, that I can write cursive but not read it.

Anonymous said...

Try learnin The Lord's Prayer in Old English:

Fæder ure þu þe eart on heofonum;

Si þin nama gehalgod

to becume þin rice

gewurþe ðin willa

on eorðan swa swa on heofonum.

urne gedæghwamlican hlaf syle us todæg

and forgyf us ure gyltas

swa swa we forgyfað urum gyltendum

and ne gelæd þu us on costnunge

ac alys us of yfele soþlice

(note: the old english "þ" is pronounced "th")

toadold said...

It took a few years but I've finally remembered my cell phone number......Now if I could just remember where I put the cell phone.

Anonymous said...

Exercise does wonders for your memory.
Luigi

Steve in Greensboro said...

Keep working on it, Rodger!

I think brain power might be maintained through use (and I think it certainly can be lost through idleness).

I seem to recall that the blogger, Steve H. Graham, tried to memorize Psalms back in the day. He claimed it helped with his memory and the holy message transformed his consciousness. Which is what the Ave Maria is doing for you, no doubt.

Jim said...

I think your brain just gets full.....I am a musician and every time I put the effort into memorizing the words to a song, I seem to forget the words to another!

Unknown said...

So, when I worked in the facility during graveyard shifts I noticed a profound number of the patients snoring. Some likely had untreated sleep apnea with the lengths between breaths. So, get good sleep. If you snore or have even mild sleep apnea or just wake up often not feeling fully rested, do what it takes to FIX IT.

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